MPLS networks have become the most advanced and widely utilized networks in the modern communication world.
The MPLS technology gives rise to development of various methods for traffic transmission and traffic protection. In many cases, the pure MPLS approach to traffic management is being fulfilled by other communication technologies, for example when data traffic of a non-MPLS origin must be transmitted over MPLS network.
One of the popular topics presently discussed by network providers, network designers and users is transmission of Ethernet traffic over MPLS networks. There are also s versions of how to protect such traffic in MPLS networks.
An EoMPLS (Ethernet over MPLS) technology, applying Ethernet to the MPLS has been recently devised. The EoMPLS is a technology of transferring Ethernet data over the MPLS network; it constructs a virtual Ethernet on the MPLS network, namely—on the MPLS pseudo wires (PWs), to enable constructing of a high-speed and large scale LAN.
However, the EoMPLS is required to implement a plurality of complicated routing protocols intrinsic for MPLS, thereby both the development of products realizing EoMPLS, and operation of the obtained system become very complicated. This fact is against the advantage which Ethernet networks originally have—i.e., against simplicity of the operation. In view of that, it becomes impossible for the user to fully enjoy benefits the Ethernet originally provides.
US2007076719A describes an Ethernet virtual switched sub-network (VSS), implemented as a virtual hub and spoke architecture overlaid on hub and spoke connectivity built of a combination of Provider Backbone Transport (spokes) and a provider backbone bridged sub-network (hub).    The distributed switching fabric sub-network over which the hub is overlaid can be, for example, an MPLS virtual private network configuration (VPLS).    The solution of US2007076719A discusses in details creating of an Ethernet virtual switched sub-network over the top of PBT/PBB infrastructure, however it does not disclose how an Ethernet virtual network can be created over MPLS infrastructure.
US 2008172497 and a group of other similar references describes a technique for interworking Ethernet and MPLS networks, where the two different networks are just inter-connected, not that one is created on top of the other.
So-called Ethernet “pseudowires” may be provisioned over a network of tunnels through a Layer-3 network, such as Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) tunnels, as described by Martini et al., in “Encapsulation Methods for Transport of Ethernet over MPLS Networks,” published as IETF RFC 4448 (April, 2006). An Ethernet “pseudowire” (PW) is used to carry Ethernet/802.3 Protocol. It should be kept in mind, however, that the so-called Ethernet PW is nothing different that the MPLS PW, being a generic mechanism for transmitting Layer-2 services (Ethernet, ATM, FR, CES) over MPLS. IETF RFC 4448 specifies the encapsulation of Ethernet/802.3 PDUs within a pseudowire. It also specifies the procedures for using a PW to provide a “point-to-point Ethernet” service.
IETF RFC 4664 which describes the framework for Layer 2 Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), discusses the full-mesh of pseudowires required for VPLS (Virtual networks over MPLS) services: “3.4.4. Scaling Issues in VPLS Deployment In general, the PSN supports a VPLS solution with a tunnel from each VPLS-PE (Provider Edge) to every other VPLS-PE participating in the same VPLS instance. Strictly, VPLS-PEs with more than one VPLS instance in common only need one tunnel, but for resource allocation reasons it might be necessary to establish several tunnels. For each VPLS service on a given VPLS-PE, it needs to establish one pseudowire to every other VPLS-PE participating in that VPLS service. In total, n*(n−1) pseudowires must be setup between the VPLS-PE routers. In a large scale deployment this obviously creates scaling problems . . . . ”
To the best of the Applicant's knowledge, the prior art describes technologies which, even if allow building an Ethernet (virtual) network over MPLS, do not allow utilizing simplicity of Ethernet, such as a simple any to any interconnection (say, multipoint to multipoint connectivity), simple ways of traffic protection, so-called timing-over-Ethernet (the Ethernet's way of delays equalization), etc.